Whether you work in retail, security, or events, you may struggle with securing items or proving the authenticity of documents and package contents. According to the International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition, counterfeiting costs U.S. businesses $200 billion to $250 billion annually. Fortunately, high quality security labels offer a versatile, reliable solution for these concerns. Learn about custom security labels and find out how to design effective labels for your security needs.
What Are Security Labels?
Custom security labels help to protect the authenticity and security of the products or assets to which they are applied. While security labels can include various products, many are tamper-proof labels placed on important assets to deter counterfeiting and theft. Through the use of destructible or holographic materials, security labels allow you to easily identify whether a product has been opened or tampered with.
How Do Security Labels Work?
Many people wonder how security labels work. These labels leverage a very high level of adhesion and an intentional residue pattern to quickly signal whether the label has been removed or tampered with. For example, custom security labels from Maverick Label will leave behind a residue that reads “VOID” or that forms a checkerboard pattern. The holographic foil cannot be placed back onto the product once removed, making it easy to tell whether the label has been tampered with.
Another option for security labels is destructible labels. These fragment very easily so that they’re very difficult to completely remove or to transfer to a new surface once placed. This makes them ideal for detecting tampering, rebranding, and counterfeiting.
By instantly signaling whether a product has been tampered with, security labels can protect customers from buying counterfeit products. This allows brands to maintain trust and authority in their field. In addition, the simple presence of a security label is often enough to deter potential counterfeiters from taking action. By increasing product visibility and making it evident that counterfeit activity will be caught, you decrease your liability and protect your assets.
The Importance of Material
High quality security labels don’t rely on complicated technology or in-depth scanning in order to be effective. Instead, their effectiveness depends entirely on the material and the adhesion itself. The security label can’t fulfill its purpose if a material is not sufficiently adhesive.
Maverick Label creates security labels that work well on glass, stainless steel, and acrylic surfaces. Destructible security labels can even be placed on curved surfaces and moderately irregular surfaces. Smooth surfaces work best for holographic labels. Working with holographic labels can help to boost the visibility and effectiveness of your security labels. In addition, holographic labels are particularly difficult to duplicate, photocopy, or forge, making this material an excellent choice for your security needs.
What to Keep in Mind
Important considerations when working with security labels include proper adhesion and printing colors.
Proper adhesion is particularly important because if the label is incorrectly applied or is not allowed to adhere for a long enough period, it may lose its tamper-proof quality and, in turn, its effectiveness. The adhesives are pressure-sensitive and require 72 hours of cure time.
One of the best printing strategies for holographic security labels is reverse printing with dark colors, such as black, because these colors allow the holographic effect to be visible through the label graphics.
Being intentional about your design choices and application as you create your custom security labels can go a long way in ensuring that they get the job done as intended.
The Design Process
With Maverick Label, you can choose from a variety of options when creating your custom security label. For some use cases, a stock hologram label may work best. You can also customize your security labels to include elements such as your brand logo or a serial number. Choose whether the residue from the security label will read “VOID” if it is removed or if it will leave behind a pattern such as checkers or dots.
Maverick Label offers a variety of pattern and color options for holographic security labels. Choose the design that best molds to your needs and your brand identity. Select the option that gets your message across based on the assets you are securing and the overall aim of the label. Options include:
- Cracked ice pattern
- “Genuine Original” text repeated across the label
- Mosaic pattern
- “Void if removed” and “Secured” text repeated across the label
- Hyper plaid pattern
A final aspect of the design process is choosing the shape of your custom security labels. Opt for circular, square corner rectangle, or round corner rectangle.
Ready to protect your profits? Get an instant quote for security labels from Maverick Label.
